The first race weekend of the 2018 Supercars championship has been completed and, as always, there is plenty of fat to chew from the opening two races of the season.
From Shane van Gisbergen’s dominant display across the weekend to the debate over parity between the new ZB Commodore and the Falcon FG X, here are some of the key talking points from the curtain-raising Adelaide 500.
Van Gisbergen does the double
A replica of his efforts 12 months ago, 2016 Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen dominated the Adelaide 500 weekend, claiming both pole positions and the pair of wins across the 250-kilometre races.
Despite losing his lead at the start of both races the Kiwi was able to claw his way back to the front through strategy. In Race 1 he comfortably won ahead of James Courtney and compatriot Scott McLaughlin, who had led the race going into Turn 1.
Race 2 saw Van Gisbergen leapt over by teammate Jamie Whincup at the start, though a transmission failure eliminated the reigning seven-time champion from the race in what was Whincup’s first non-classified finish since Gold Coast 2013.
Having been given a free kick by David Reynolds in the speedy Erebus Commodore, Van Gisbergen won the Sunday race by under a second, to clean-sweep the Adelaide 500 for the second year in a row.
(Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Triumphant debut for the ZB Commodore
The significance of Van Gisbergen’s back-to-back wins on the streets of Adelaide not only gave him the lead in the standings but was also the best christening possible for the new ZB Commodore, which the Holden teams debuted.
Hailed for its superior balance on the bumpy surfaces of the concrete jungle, Van Gisbergen and his Red Bull Holden Racing Team maximised the new package to edge out their Blue Oval rivals, who endured an inconsistent weekend at most.
With Triple Eight machinery being supplied to all Holden teams on the grid, it would have been real vindication too to see the Race 2 podium locked out by drivers in Commodores.
Apart from the Red Bull team, three other Holden outfits were able to grace the podium in Adelaide with their ZBs, those being Erebus, Walkinshaw Andretti United and Garry Rogers Motorsport.
(Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
The great weight debate
With victory has also come controversy, with the ZB Commodore coming under scrutiny for significant differences between its weight and that of its rivals.
DJR Team Penske have immediately raised the claim that their Holden rivals have a weight example due to a difference in the centre of gravity between the two chassis, resulting in a lighter Commodore.
With its hatchback origins, the new Commodore features more composite components than the Falcon and the Nissan Altima, especially on the roof portion of the car, for which the others use steel.
The Ford outfits are pushing to re-homologating their panels, but it all comes down to how the Falcon shares more similarities with its road-going version than the Commodore does. It is for this reason the Holden utilised more composite parts.
This’ll surely be a continual talking point throughout the season ahead, especially if the Red Bull Holdens continue to hold the advantage of the DJR Team Penske Fords.
(Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images)
Walkinshaw Andretti United atop the standings
Once again the Walkinshaw team have put their best foot forward at the Adelaide 500, giving the impression that they’ve found some form following the disastrous 2017 campaign they had.
A second-place finish for 2010 Supercars champion Courtney in the opening race on Saturday and dual top-ten finishes for both he and teammate Scott Pye on Sunday sees the Mobil 1 Boost Mobile squad leading the team standings after the first round, with Courtney second on the driver’s leaderboard.
Whether to be fooled into believing that they’ve turned a leaf in the off-season or not is an obvious choice given that the former Holden Racing Team typically fares strongly at Adelaide.
Though with the technical and financial injection that Walkinshaw will be receiving from Andretti and United Autosports in this collaboration, it would be remiss to state that Courtney’s podium will be the last of 2018.
steve
Guest
James Courtney in particular, seems to be really excited by the upgrades coming before hitting the track at the GP. So I'm hoping that they can put in another great showing in a couple of weeks. But I take your point, will be interesting to see how they run on a proper racetrack when the time comes.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Promising start indeed, but as always it is difficult not to be dubious about it until we see results come from them at other circuits. Albert Park will be a real test, with its high-speed nature and emphasis on longer corners, rather than the stop/start turns of Adelaide.
steve
Guest
I am really interested to see what these upgrades are that will hopefully help keep Walkinshaw Andretti United a relevant player in all races this season, not just the street circuits. Its been a really promising and surprising start for them, I didn't expect it, and could have been even better had they not had trouble during Sunday qualifying.
Jason Crawford
Roar Rookie
Hopefully it will be up soon, having written it late last night I have realised however there is more I wanted to add and didn’t lol. Always the case. Your piece was a great read, and I think an accurate reflection. You are correct off memory, I believe Holden teams etc did chuck up a fuss. Which seems to be a never ending circle in motorsport. But again something you can understand at times, even when it is well off the mark and an overreaction. Such as with the FGX. There was in all honesty no major advantage obtained by all Ford teams with that car, the rear wing changed as it needed to be to suit the FGX if you will but the aero limits were essentially where they needed to be. Tickford, formally Prodrive obviously simply did a great job with the set up and development of the cars. Reflected by the following year the Holden’s more then challenging of course. One thing I forgot to add to the article was the talk about the rear wing and the location of it on the new Commodore. People are questioning that, and that is not valid. It is in an identical position to where it was on the VF, only it appears to be much further out as we are dealing with a hatch now as opposed to a fully fledged sedan. The end plates are larger, and I believe the top is 30mm higher but aside from that no change. The Ford teams request to re-homologate their cars, and add composite roofs and bonnets seems unlikely. Given if this is not the final year in the championship for the FGX next year will be. I just hope that the season is not dominated with the talk about it. Yes there is an advantage of sorts there without question. That is a certainty, however the Falcons at various stages were on the money pace wise and could have beaten the Holden teams. The issue was more related to set up then anything else, DJR Team Penske on Saturday losing the balance of McLaughlin’s car. At certain tracks the new Commodore does have an advantage, but if the Falcon teams get their set ups right from the outset they can and will contend. The Holden teams will just have things a tiny bit easier in certain areas potentially.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
Thanks for the feedback and I look forward to reading your piece regarding the homologation and weight debate. It seems that every time a new chassis is introduced, that there are cries of unfair advantages - as I recall the Holden teams doing the same when the FG X debuted two years after the VF bodytype for COTF. It’s almost forgotten that we are now under the Gen2 regulations, which allow Holden to race with the hatchback bodytype. But anyway, traditionally the Falcons have struggled in Adelaide and then come on song at Albert Park.
Jason Crawford
Roar Rookie
I have written on the homologation debate if you will, which I think should be up shortly. Looking to simplify what it all means from a technical aspect. The debate is centred around how the Holden’s are achieving their weight, given they had to be made of all composite materials. Other then the drivers door which I believe may be steel. As a consequence Triple 8 for example have needed to place lead to add weight to the car to achieve minimum weight, which of course they place down low. Giving the Commodore a lower centre of gravity to the Falcon’s, as with the Falcons the bulk of the weight is up high. So from a race car perspective to use Adelaide as an example those cars will be naturally better suited to turns 1,2,3 and 8. As you wrote the Falcons essentially had an up and down weekend across the board, but that was due more to set up then anything else. As at various stages of the weekend the majority of Falcons had pace, good enough to match the new Commodore. Without the tyre deflating Scott McLaughlin was every chance to win that race, and Chaz Mostert on 6 Lap older tyres was matching the leaders pound for pound in lap times for the final stint. A tenth here and there was all that separated them. Walkinshaw Andretti United started well, but in reality we should expect nothing less. It had to be no surprise they performed well as they always tend to there. It is what comes next that is the question. They have upgrades coming on line for the Grand Prix so that will be interesting, however by their own admission this is going to take time and we should be conservative as far as expectations are concerned for this year. In terms of the racing whilst Holden fans will call the Ford teams sooks, and whilst the Ford fans will scream the Holden teams have an unfair advantage it must be kept in perspective. If the shoe were on the other foot the Holden teams lead by Triple 8 would be doing the same, this is a game where inches count. You can’t blame the Ford teams for chucking up a little bit of a stink if they do, as it does from a technical aspect I can say first hand provide an advantage. However that should not detract from the praise Triple 8 especially deserve on the incredible job they have done. To not only build and supply parts for 14 Commodore’s they also found the time to develop theirs and have them ready for race 1. But based on the first weekend the Falcons can compete certainly, however at certain tracks finding that set up may be more difficult for them.